Having children can be, and most of the time is, considered the greatest joy of anyone’s life. When finding childcare, parents might become stressed finding someone or a place that not only fulfills the qualifications they seek, but also finding someone that can be trusted to help with their children. Every parent’s nightmare becomes a brutal reality in Leila Slimani’s haunting novel, “The Perfect Nanny,” which provides an incisive look at human nature told through a chilling lens.
Slimani’s novel takes place in Paris and finds Myriam, an attorney who has been working as a stay-at-home mom since the birth of her first child, desperately attempting to find herself again and wanting nothing more than to go back to work. Myriam consults her husband, Paul, about finding a nanny and, though he seems reluctant at first, they set out to pick someone who can help with their two kids, Mila and Adam. After halfheartedly interviewing several lackluster candidates, the couple meets Louise, a woman in her 40s whose inviting presence and assured efficiency secure her the job.
Louise starts immediately, her presence altering the lives of her employers who are overjoyed to finally have help, even if they have to break their own budget to afford this luxury. Louise seems perfect to Myriam and Paul — she’s attentive to both of their needs as well as those of the children, she cleans the house and she even cooks for the whole family. When small signs of malice start to appear, Myriam and Paul begin to wonder who they have brought into their lives.
Slimani’s greatest achievement in the novel is her razor-sharp perception of human emotion and feeling. Told using multiple perspectives, including that of Myriam, Paul and Louise, the novel begins to unfold the present by allowing the audience to understand the past—most specially, Louise’s. Slimani never demonizes or glorifies her characters, adding a layer of empathy to each decision they make.
The most poignant observation Slimani makes in this novel is how humans naturally need to feel not only wanted, but necessary in the lives of others. Through Louise’s past and present, the audience can see her feelings about being a necessity in someone’s life and the toll it takes on her to feel disposable. Louise’s feelings are natural, a universal need felt by most to be needed in someone else’s life. For some, like Louise, that might even be the meaning of life.
Through Myriam, Slimani writes a woman who desperately wants help. When Myriam is first introduced, her exhaustion is so palpable it seems to float right off the page. It is immediately obvious that Myriam needs assistance with her children to help make her life manageable, for her to feel like she is able to accomplish anything. Myriam also worries that her wanting to go back to work makes her an unfit parent, a selfish careerist who thinks of nothing but propelling herself forward.
This can be a harsh reality for some women when deciding if they want to go back to work or stay with their children, thinking that they will be judged for going back to work and seeking help with raising their children. There is a distinct juxtaposition between the desires of Myriam and Louise, with neither of the women ever fully understanding the other.
Through haunting prose and a commitment to showing the nature of humans, Leila Slimani has crafted something special and horrifying with “The Perfect Nanny,” a novel that should never be read in the dark.
